As first time parents, James and I were a little uncertain about feeding Poppy. More specifically, we wanted to know how to know if she was getting enough to eat throughout the day. Luckily for us, when our midwife returned to our house for a follow-up visit the day after Poppy was born, she introduced us to the concept of a diaper diary.
What is a diaper diary? A diaper diary is a simple worksheet that parents can use to keep track of feedings, wet diapers, and poopy diapers. Our midwife provided us with a diaper diary that also included pictures of the different poops that a newborn baby should produce. This diaper diary spanned only the first week of Poppy’s life. Because James and I wanted to keep track of her feeding and potty habits for a little bit longer, I created my own diaper diary that my readers should feel free to use as well.
Using a diaper diary is simple. Whenever I fed Poppy, James and I circled the closest time on the chart. By keeping track of how often she ate, I was able to figure out her eating pattern. I was also able to figure out if I needed to wake her up at any point to eat because she had been sleeping for too long. (Because she developed a mild case of jaundice, I needed to be especially careful about making sure that Poppy ate frequently so that she could get rid of the extra bilirubin in her system.)
In addition to keeping track of feedings, James and I also kept track of Poppy’s wet and poopy diapers. What goes in must come out! As I sing to Poppy sometimes, the milk goes in and the poop goes out. Because I am exclusively breastfeeding, I have little idea about just how much milk Poppy is eating at each feeding. However, by keeping track of her diaper changes with the diaper diary, James and I are better able to tell that she is getting enough to eat.
So, to any other new parents or parents-to-be out there who are worried about making sure that their newborn babies get enough to eat, I highly recommend using a diaper diary. Diaper diaries are easy to use and work wonders to ease a new parent’s mind!
Image Credits
Diaper Diary © 2011 Heather Johnson
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